The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has created a new set of standards for its local Realtor boards, pressuring them to shape up – or ship out, with those who cannot meet the new minimums at risk of losing their charter or being forced to merge with larger organizations.
When you need a mortgage – whether to buy a house or refinance – what do you do? More than likely you jump online and check out competing quotes on sites that let you compare multiple offers, including interest rates, annual percentage rates (APRs) and monthly payments.
In the aftermath of the death of Boston University student Binland Lee in a fire at an Allston property in 2013, which became part of the focus of a Boston Globe investigative series last month, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh announced a crackdown on private landlords who crowd students into substandard and often dangerous rental properties.
U.S. house price rises will likely slow further over the next two years, curbed by tight lending standards, slow wage growth and a lack of first time buyers, a Reuters poll found.
An 8,519-square-foot home in Weston topped the charts this week, selling for $4.6 million.
There were 46,000 foreclosures across the country last month, an 18 percent decline from 54,000 in April 2013, according to a new report from real estate data and analytics provider CoreLogic.
Contracts to buy previously owned U.S. homes rose modestly in April, a sign of stabilization in the housing market, which had been pummeled by higher interest rates and a harsh winter.
U.S. single-family home prices rose in March and beat expectations, a closely watched survey said on Tuesday.
U.S. home prices rose 7.6 percent in March compared with last year, rising to an average price of $233,000, according to a new report from Black Knight Financial Services.
When drought hits the Serengeti, the wild beasts begin to range farther and farther afield in search of new watering holes. The refi drought that has hit the vast and rolling plains of the mortgage industry appears to be having a similar effect – but it’s not clear how many of the thundering herd of loan originators will survive the trek to greener pastures.
On Feb. 25, a Brookline agent put a Beacon Street condo on the market and later lamented that she received only three offers, the highest of which went only $5,000 over ask. So much for the old real estate adage about pricing: Leave some room for negotiation. In the market the Hub is currently in, only three offers and only $5,000 over ask is a letdown.
Wide-scale mortgage reform is turning out to be harder than the crisis that spurred it. During the economic downturn, financial subsidies to the nation’s biggest mortgage servicers served as emergency medicine, but long-term remedies to the vulnerabilities of the U.S. mortgage system are a lot more challenging.
For young first-time buyers, people with modest down payment cash, or seniors who want to tap their equity using a reverse mortgage, it’s a growing problem: They cannot use Federal Housing Administration financing in condominiums.
Two Back Bay homes tied for the No. 1 spot for the second consecutive week. Each sold for $8.5 million.
The delinquency rate for U.S. mortgage loans ticked up slightly in April compared with the previous month, rising 1.84 percent to 5.62 percent, according to a new report from Black Knight Financial Services. However, delinquencies were down 9.5 percent from the same time last year.
A new report from CoreLogic suggests that the poor quality of available inventory may be contributing to sluggish spring sales.
Existing-home sales increased for the first time this year in April, while inventory increased and home price growth moderated, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
The Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) reported today that the April Realtor Market Confidence Index (RMCI) was down for the sixth straight month. The Realtor Price Confidence Index (RPCI) also decreased in April, for the first time in 26 months.
The Community Economic Development Assistance Corp. (CEDAC) recently approved more than $2.4 million in loans to Somerville Community Corp. (SCC) and Lawrence Community Works Inc. (LCW) for three affordable housing developments.
The U.S. negative equity rate fell to 18.8 percent of all homeowners with a mortgage in the first quarter of 2014, representing 9.7 million Americans, according to a new report from real estate portal Zillow.
